Wintry Games
by Kaiser Washington
Summary: A story about Sendoh's journey from the start of his captaincy to the Winter Games, and how the presence of some unlikely people in his life makes it both the easier and the more difficult for him on the way. Pairings: Sendoh x Ayako, and some vague one-sided RuSen on the side.


**Chapter 1**

"Good afternoon, Captain."

"Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon."

The afternoon bells tintinnabulated in the distance, and people began filing into the gym. There were a few new faces, a few frightened freshmen who hadn't been able to get a place on the team in the spring, but no one very remarkable. The best of them would have the privilege of standing behind the benchwarmers this season.

"Captain Sendoh, I presume?" It was the mordant voice of Koshino Hiroaki, who had newly been made vice-captain of the team.

"What are you doing out of line, Koshino?" Sendoh laughed. He laughed, but he was privately not a little nervous. He had led the team on several occasions before, so it wasn't that he was afraid of the responsibility. Quite the contrary. What he disliked was the fact that he would have to be a man of words in addition to a man of action.

The Ryonan team, regulars as well as benchwarmers, had gathered at the center of the court in an orderly group in deference to Sendoh the legend, who each of them (with the possible exception of Fukuda) secretly wished to be in some degree. Then Coach Taoka, who had been standing outside the gym for ten minutes, waiting for everyone to settle down, made his dignified entrance.

"It makes my head throb to think that I'm going to have to train you bunch of fools to win the Winter Games." It was the same speech every year. "Those of you who have been on the team before know how tough I am on my players. If you think you can't take it, I suggest you leave right now, and spare yourself the humiliation later. Now, Sendoh." He motioned impatiently for Sendoh to talk to the team.

"Good morning— ah, afternoon, fellas!" He laughed, and scratched the back of his head. He hadn't prepared for this. "I am overwhelmed by the determination I see in your faces. I am lost for words. But I do know that Ryonan's going to win the Winter Games this year."

An awkward silence followed this bit of oration. Koshino felt embarrassed for Sendoh, and Coach Taoka looked as if he wanted to wring his neck.

"There are some important things I want to tell you, which Sendoh forgot to mention." Coach Taoka cast a withering look at Sendoh, before turning to the team. "In two weeks, we have a practice game against Shohoku."

There were a few gasps among the new players, who had followed closely Shohoku's explosive progress in the spring. Players like Rukawa were held almost in the same esteem as Sendoh these days at Ryonan – almost.

"What that means is that we have to play like our lives depend on it. I will not tolerate defeat under any circumstances." Coach Taoka looked ready to eat the team. "We start training today. Kiss your asses goodbye!" It wasn't the most charming way to make his point, but it was effective.

Sendoh wondered throughout practice whether Rukawa had gotten any better over the summer. He certainly hoped so; but he didn't want to lose embarrassingly to someone a year younger than he in his first game as captain. It was a meeting he looked forward to with a mixture of eagerness and apprehension.

"And don't forget, Ayako will be there, too," said Koshino as the pair of them walked toward the train station.

Sendoh laughed.

"Ayako's an interesting girl." He didn't love Ayako with anything nearing the intensity of Miyagi's passion; but he had nevertheless become thoroughly enamored with her over the months. It mattered little to him that they were separated by loyalties, by circumstances – perhaps even by a warming up on her part to Miyagi's persistence. He wasn't that kind of romantic.

"Hey, Sendoh." Koshino was waving a hand in front of Sendoh's face. "You look spaced out."

That Sendoh was.

"I think you should ask her out after the game."

"Are you crazy? The last time I so much as said a good morning to her, she was backing up against the wall. Face it, it will never happen. Besides, her boy Miyagi is Shohoku's captain now."

"You're right. It's a stupid idea." Koshino's stop had arrived. "If you did ask her out, I would slap my forehead, and say, 'What are you thinking?'"

"You do that. Later."

Later that night, Sendoh received a text message from Rukawa, asking to meet him at the basketball court nearby for a one-on-one. Their last one-on-one had been before Shohoku had gone off to the Inter Highs.

Sendoh got out of bed with a sigh. It wasn't every day that Rukawa condescended to say words to one; and when he did, one would be a fool to ignore them.

"What's up?"

"You look sleepy."

"I am." Sendoh rubbed his eyes. "It's the middle of the night."

The bounce of the basketball echoed off invisible walls in the darkness as Rukawa formulated his next words. It visibly strained him to talk. Sendoh wondered why he even bothered, and decided that they were now friends, insomuch as Rukawa was capable of having friends.

"It's been two months since I last played against you." Another bounce as he marshaled his thoughts. "I think I can beat you now."

"If you do, it'll be because you dragged me out of bed for this," Sendoh yawned.

"Don't be such a sissy."

Sendoh smiled mid-stretch. Those words – those uncharacteristic words. Any more of them, and he might even begin to discern a personality in Rukawa, something that even others in Shohoku had admitted to him existed only during games.

"Right." Sendoh put his hands on his knees in preparation for a fight. "A quick one-on-one. I don't want to be staying up too long. My team already thinks I'm an idiot."

"Heh."

A laugh. So they were close friends now, huh?

Sendoh contemplated the curious nature of their friendship, or whatever it was, as they played. Rukawa managed to score what seemed like two baskets for each of Sendoh's, to the point where Sendoh decided not to keep count of their scores for fear of starting to hate himself.

"What's the matter?" It was a question, not a taunt. "You don't look like you're serious about this."

Sendoh noted that he was panting much more heavily than Rukawa. A sign of exhaustion? Or had Rukawa really managed to eclipse him in so short a period?

"I'm just tired." Sendoh's words had lost their levity, and were more ponderous than before. "You really have improved."

"So I beat you?"

Sendoh smiled. He knew Rukawa had kept the score throughout.

"Indeed you did."

Rukawa shook his head.

"I'm not convinced. I don't think you were playing like yourself."

The basketball lay motionless at their feet.

"Do you want me to tell you what's bothering me? You want me to pour my heart out to you?" It was a rhetorical question; but Sendoh's laugh died in his throat when he realized that that was what Rukawa seemed to want. Whence this willingness in Rukawa to acknowledge the existence of human emotion? Whence this prurient interest in the affairs of other mortals?

Sendoh took a deep breath, and pretended that Rukawa was a mannequin, which, he was relieved to find, was just as easy as it had always been. Then he told Rukawa of his misgivings about being the captain of Ryonan, of his uncertainty that Ryonan would be as good as before without Uozumi and Ikegami, and then of some things that he was surprised to hear coming out of his mouth, such as the fact that he had very nearly lost confidence in his ability to lead the team and win games after their devastating losses in the spring. Would Rukawa sneer at him for betraying such weakness of spirit?

But he didn't. Rukawa listened patiently, or at least without interrupting. Sendoh then felt that he could tell Rukawa anything, and so told him of his affections for Ayako. He was surprised to discover himself how deep they were. Perhaps if circumstances had been different, if they hadn't been in rival schools in perpetual war with each other, they might have been together now.

Rukawa looked away at this, and then picked up the basketball.

"Good night," he said tersely, even for him.

"Uh, wait up, Rukawa." Sendoh broke into a brief jog to catch up to Rukawa as he strode out of the court toward the post to which he had locked his bicycle. "I'm sorry if I said anything to make you uncomfortable."

"Don't mention it." Rukawa stopped briefly. Then, addressing the basketball in his hands, he said, "I like playing against you. I just didn't think…" Then he quickly unlocked his bike, and rode away into the night before Sendoh could digest what had happened.

A police car passed by shortly thereafter, and Sendoh decided to head back home and get some sleep. But he doubted that he could get any, with all these thoughts and feelings buzzing inside his head. He wondered briefly whether it was possible that Rukawa's apparent tolerance of his existence was an indication that some deeper feelings had dug their claws into his sensitive little heart, but dismissed the thought immediately. It was ridiculous. Everyone knew that Rukawa had no feelings except for basketball.

/tbc

* * *

**Super long and flowery A/N:** I feel almost like an anachronism, uploading fan fiction again - like a piece of long-forgotten history suddenly come back amid general confusion and disorder to do something it was never particularly good at. Ideas are something that have long ceased coming my way, so I have to pull my stories out of hats and less agreeable places these days. What you've read here (assuming you didn't scroll all the way down to the bottom to ascertain whether the A/N was better than the dross above) was essentially a putting together of three different themes, none of which I'm very good with: romance, certain pairings in particular, and the telling of long stories.

Sensible though I am of its imperfections, I uploaded this because I wanted to get back to writing fan fiction as soon as I could. I had a vague idea for a story earlier that somehow never came within my grasp. Instead you have this prologue to a story whose direction not even its author knows at this point. So on the off chance that you like it, or would like it if it went in a certain direction, feel free to give me suggestions. I am not sure at this point whether I shall even make it to Chapter 2.

But I've learnt my lesson, and even if this turns out to be the foulest piece of crap ever posted in this category, I will not delete it.

_Ha... Ha... Ha..._

An apology is probably due to the brave-hearted reader who, after hacking their way through the brambles, found themselves faced with this epitaph to a literary career that had ended before it even began, and every trace of whose existence had been destroyed. Perhaps this author's note serves no other purpose than to remind the author of his past follies, and to ensure that he not commit them again.

Until next time, whenever that be,

Kaiser Washington


End file.
